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Silence of the Lamb's Wool
Yarn Retreat Mystery #2
Betty Hechtman

Berkley Prime Crime
July 2014/ ISBN 0425252582
Mystery-cozy

Reviewed by Cheryl Green

 

Casey Feldstein has finally made her Aunt Joan's yarn retreat business her own. In addition, she is still making desserts for the Blue Door restaurant and muffins for coffee shops around Cadbury by the Sea. Yarn2Go was holding a weekend event at the Vista Del Mar hotel. It was Casey's largest group to date. This event is a Sheep to Shawl extravaganza. The retreaters would see the wool and learn to make it into yarn, then use the yarn to knit a shawlette. Casey was checking in at the hotel to make sure her three early bird retreaters would be put in rooms near each other. They had bonded and became friends at a previous retreat. Once everything is checked off her list, Casey runs into Kevin St John, the hotel manager. He tells her that they could not allow sheep shearing on hotel property.

Casey has other issues to contend with: her ex boyfriend, Dr. Sammy Glickner, has moved to the area. The urologist has joined a medical practice and he will be doing magic tricks on the weekends. He just got a gig at the Vista Del Mar hotel. Her cat, Julius, is a very demanding eater. Several woman at Cadbury Yarn shop claim that Nicole Welton is not good enough to teach the spinning classes.

The next day finds Casey waiting for Nicole to teach a spinning class for the three early bird retreaters. Finally, Casey heads for the front desk to call Nicole. Cell phone and wifi service are not part of the hotel's idea of a retreat. She runs into Bree, one of her early retreaters, who says she found a woman on the boardwork. They woman was on the ground. She was breathing but needed help. 911 is called and Casey sees that the woman in distress is Nicole Welton. It looks like Nicole would not be teaching any of the spinning classes, since she died shortly after shortly after being admitted to the hospital. Casey had better be careful investigating this death, or she just might end up snagged.

Things to ponder: Will there be a sheep shearing event? What was in the envelope that Burton Fiore left for Nicole? Why was Nicole on the dunes when she should have been teaching a class?

What a fun read. I was pulled into the story from the first page. It then turned into a page-turner of a read. The story is well-plotted and there are enough suspects to satisfy any cozy mystery reader. The author has thoughtfully included knitting patterns and several yummy recipes. So if you like a mystery that is filled with stitches, then you should be reading Silence of the Lamb's Wool.

 
Reviewed 2014
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